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A winning smile

Unlike most people visiting the dentist, Dianna Tolan was moved to tears of joy.

As winner of an extreme cosmetic dental makeover contest held by Dr. Omer Anisso of Islandental, she looks forward to finally being able to smile with confidence.

I know itll change my life, said Tolan, a Port Orchard resident who made her first visit to Islandental on Monday. It already has. I smile in my sleep now.

The contest is part of Anissos Perfect Smiles Across America project, in which Islandental will give away a dental makeover to one person each year.

Anisso will document the 6-8 week process and submit it to professional dental journals in hopes that his professional colleagues will do the same.

I hope this becomes an annual event that grows and improves somebodys life and not just their smile, with more confidence and higher self-esteem, Anisso said. We see it all the time in our patients.

Over the course of several visits, Tolan will receive a root canal, a three-unit ceramic bridge to improve her chewing surface by bridging missing teeth, and high-end ceramic crowns to whiten teeth discolored since birth from medication she took as a baby.

Tolan works for a social service agency that helps low-income families with housing, and also at Kmart on weekends and evenings.

The dental makeover Tolan will receive  normally costing about $20,000  would have been out of financial reach.

She was one of 10 chosen from over 100 entries. Each finalist received a complimentary one-hour visit including a routine exam and x-ray with an interview to talk about their motivations and where they were in their lives.

Islandental chose Tolan not just for dental needs, but also for her personality.

She had the right attitude, was eager to listen and trust us, and wanted to do it for all the right reasons, Anisso said.

Tolan said that her teeth made her self-conscious and kept her from being more outgoing when she was young, and have kept her from standing up for herself and speaking up as an adult.

Its been a lifelong dream to get my teeth fixed, she said. My daughter told me that all she wanted for Christmas was for me to win this contest.

Islandentals good turn has inspired several more.

The dental work will start with a root canal donated by Dr. Michael Huey, an endodontist who practices in Bremerton and Port Orchard.

Paige McCarty  an actress and cosmetologist who was in a car accident years ago, and had to have her smile reconstructed  got the salon she frequents to join in. Thus, Kenneth L Salon and Spa in Poulsbo will offer Tolan a complimentary spa treatment, hair cut and styling, and make-up.

Bainbridge Islands Flowers-To-Go will present Tolan with a wrapped bouquet.

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